Ristorante Luka

Ristorante Luka is run by chef Takashi Okuno, who cooks Italian food through a Japanese lens. It occupies a refurbished shophouse on Tanjong Pagar Road, with a casual ground-floor dining room and a second-floor space used for private parties and company dinners.

The pastas are where the Japanese influence shows most: spaghetti with mentaiko cream and ikura, shirasu aglio e olio with bottarga and oba leaf, and squid-ink ikasumi. Pizzas come as single 7-inch or sharing 11-inch rounds, from a plain marinara to a teriyaki chicken "Samurai". From the grill, M7 wagyu harami is priced per 100g. Raw dishes include Hyogo oysters with ikura and tuna tartare with negitoro.

Prices are moderate for the area and a promotional set lunch runs on weekdays, so it works for office lunches as well as relaxed dinners. It opens every day, including Sunday evenings. Booking is through Chope, or by WhatsApp.